Method and system for educating healthcare professionals

Abstract

A quiz bowl type game for healthcare professionals includes questions that are drawn from the product inserts of pharmaceutical products or any other material about the product that is in part or in whole intended to educate healthcare professionals or the public on the product that has been produced by the pharmaceutical company or someone who has received monies from the pharmaceutical company for the purpose of producing such materials. Thus, in preparing for the game, the participants learn about the pharmaceutical products and their proper usage. Participants may also be guided through a series of sessions consisting of three different types of encounters based on a collection of multiple choice questions in order to prepare the participants for competing in the game. This requires the participants to systematically review and record data pertaining to each multiple choice question on two different occasions prior to a pre-determined multiple number of third tier encounters during each of which the participants are prompted to prompted to recall as much data as they can.

1 . A method for marketing a pharmaceutical product, comprising the steps of: 
 sponsoring a quiz game having a plurality of questions, at least one of the plurality of questions related to the pharmaceutical product; and    awarding a prize to a game participant correctly answering the at least one question.    
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the step of: 
 formulating the at least one question based on a product insert of the pharmaceutical product that is at least in part intended to educate healthcare professionals on the product that has been produced by the pharmaceutical company.    
   
   
       3 . A method of teaching healthcare professionals, comprising the steps of: 
 conducting a quiz game having a plurality of questions, at least one of the plurality of questions related to a pharmaceutical product; and    awarding a prize to a game participant correctly answering the at least one question.    
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 3 , further comprising the step of: 
 basing the at least one question on a product insert of the pharmaceutical product that is at least in part intended to educate healthcare professionals on the product that has been produced by the pharmaceutical company.    
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 3 , further comprising the step of: 
 partnering with a pharmaceutical company to sponsor the quiz game.    
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the step of partnering further includes the steps of: 
 receiving funding from the pharmaceutical company for purpose of producing the quiz game.    
   
   
       7 . A method of operating a quiz game for healthcare professionals comprising the steps of: 
 generating a first set of questions for the quiz game;    partnering with a pharmaceutical company to provide funding for the quiz game;    generating a second set of questions for the quiz game, related to a pharmaceutical product of the pharmaceutical company, said second set of questions based on a product insert for the pharmaceutical product that is at least in part intended to educate healthcare professionals on the product that has been produced by the pharmaceutical company;    conducting the quiz game using the first and second sets of questions; and    awarding a respective prize provided by the pharmaceutical company to a game participant that correctly answers one of the second set of questions.    
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 7 , further comprising the steps of: 
 determining an overall winner of the quiz game; and    awarding an overall prize.    
   
   
       9 . A method for advertising a pharmaceutical product comprising the steps of: 
 providing funding to a vendor for the purpose of producing a quiz bowl competition for a group of healthcare professionals, said quiz game including a question about the pharmaceutical product that is based on a product insert for that pharmaceutical product that is at least in part intended to educate healthcare professionals on the product that has been produced by the pharmaceutical company.    
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the step of providing funding further includes at least one of the following steps: 
 providing funding for the hardware device used to implement the quiz game and for its maintenance;    providing funding for insurance and shipping of the hardware device;    providing funding for travel, food, and lodging for all vendor personnel;    providing funding for fees for an A-V technician;    providing funding for an honorarium for a host for the competition;    providing funding for the creation and maintenance of a web-site and its content that is available for all participants;    providing funding for the research and creation of all questions for the competition; and    providing funding for prizes awarded to game participants.    
   
   
       11 . A method for marketing a pharmaceutical product, comprising the steps of: 
 sponsoring a quiz game having a plurality of questions, at least one of the plurality of questions related to the pharmaceutical product;    awarding a prize to a game participant correctly answering the at least one question; and    complying with ethical guidelines of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA).    
   
   
       12 . A method of instructing a participant in an educational session comprising a plurality of temporally sequenced encounters, the method comprising: 
 prompting review of a multiple choice question by a participant during a first encounter of the plurality of encounters, and prompting recording by the participant of data regarding the multiple choice question;    prompting review of the recorded data by the participant during a second encounter of the plurality of encounters; and    prompting the participant to recall data relating to at least one of the recorded data and the multiple choice question during a third encounter of the plurality of encounters.    
   
   
       13 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising prompting the participant to review the multiple choice question during the second encounter.  
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising prompting the participant to determine the data regarding the multiple choice question.  
   
   
       15 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein prompting the recording of the data further includes prompting the participant to record data relating to at least one of a group consisting of: a detail of the multiple choice question, a detail of an answer to the multiple choice question, a keyword, and a description derived by the participant.  
   
   
       16 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein prompting the recording of the data further includes prompting the participant to record the data within a memory of a computer.  
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein prompting reviewing of the multiple choice question further includes prompting the participant to review the multiple choice question and presenting the multiple choice question on a computer display.  
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising prompting recording by the participant of additional data regarding the multiple choice question during the second encounter.  
   
   
       19 . The method of  claim 18 , further comprising prompting the participant to recall the additional data during the third encounter.  
   
   
       20 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising generating a worksheet configured to facilitate the educational session.  
   
   
       21 . An apparatus comprising: 
 a memory configured to store program code; and    a processor configured to access the memory and to execute the program code, wherein the processor is further configured to enable review by a participant of a multiple choice question; to allow the participant to record data regarding the multiple choice question during a first encounter; to allow the participant to review the recorded data during a second encounter temporally spaced from the first encounter; and to prompt during a third encounter the participant to recall data relating to at least one of the recorded data and the multiple choice question, wherein the third encounter is temporally spaced from both the first and second encounters.